8 Washington OK by S.F. supes stands

S.F. DEVELOPMENT

Updated 10:36 pm, Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Building the 8 Washington project would require a waiver of the area's 84-foot height limit.

Building the 8 Washington project would require a waiver of the area's 84-foot height limit.

Photo: Skidmore Owings And Merrill

8 Washington OK by S.F. supes stands

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San Francisco supervisors refused Tuesday to overturn their vote approving a high-priced waterfront condominium project, clearing the way for a 2013 citywide referendum that could kill the 8 Washington St. development.

The vote was the same as the one taken June 12, before opponents of the 134-unit luxury project collected more than 31,000 signatures to qualify the referendum. Once again, eight supervisors supported the measure, with Board President David Chiu and Supervisors David Campos and John Avalos opposed.

Chiu has been adamant in his opposition to the 3.2-acre development on a triangle of Port of San Francisco land across the Embarcadero from the Ferry Building. He called on board members to stop what could be a costly referendum election and campaign by reversing their approval of a special 136-foot height limit for the project, far taller than the current 84-foot limit along the waterfront.

Both the large number of signatures collected and polls commissioned by opponents of the development show that city voters are against both the individual project and any effort to allow taller buildings along the bay, he said.

"Today we have a chance to vote with a majority of San Franciscans," Chiu said.

Chiu's arguments were quickly dismissed by supervisors backing the project, who noted that the 31,000 voters who signed the referendum petitions only heard the opponents' harangues against the development.

In the referendum election, "voters will make a decision just as this board made a decision, after hearing both sides," said Supervisor Scott Wiener.

The referendum qualifies for the next citywide ballot, which isn't until November 2013.

The 8 Washington project has been in the works for seven years, with opponents complaining all the while that it was too tall, bulky and expensive for the waterfront. The pricey condominiums are designed for the richest of the rich, they argued, and would open the way for similar developments along the Embarcadero.

Former City Attorney Louise Renne, speaking for the opponents of 8 Washington, urged the supervisors to let common sense prevail and send the development "back to the drawing board."

The city needs good projects, she said, "that leave the waterfront for us and not just for the few."

"The people opposing this have no interest in height limits; they just want to kill the project," he said. Opponents of the project lobbied progressive Supervisors Christina Olague, Eric Mar and Jane Kim to change their votes.

"I have been cajoled ... and warned of dire electoral consequences if I didn't change my vote on the project," said Olague, an appointed incumbent locked in a rugged battle to hang onto her District Five seat. "At times, I felt like a schoolgirl being bullied on the playground."

But Olague said she wouldn't reverse herself because of what might happen to her politically. While the 8 Washington project isn't perfect, "I haven't heard anything compelling enough to change my vote," she added.

Mar and Kim agreed, citing the $11 million developer Simon Snellgrove has agreed to pay into the city's affordable housing fund, the parking fees that will help finance street improvements and landscaping, and the open space that will be part of the development.

While it's a difficult decision, Kim said, "The positives outweigh the negatives."

The board's vote was the final chance to keep the referendum off the ballot. The 8 Washington project will remain on hold, with no physical construction allowed, until after the November 2013 election.

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